One of three rare, kit-built houses in Melbourne is scheduled for demolition

The kit home is on Palmetto Street, a block north of downtown Melbourne.

The message with "Distressing News" in the subject line, popped into my in-box at 11:05 a.m. Friday.

"We need help saving a historic home in Melbourne," Eddie Browder wrote. He's a landscape architect and project manager based in Orlando who does some work in Melbourne.

The email was sent to a dozen people who have developed an interest in an architectural anomaly that was discovered in May. Three homes, built on adjacent lots, were identified as "kit homes" from the late 1920s or early 1930s. They are on Palmetto Street, a block north of Melbourne's downtown business district.

In May, two researchers in other states identified the three homes as being from a Gordon Van Tyne kit home catalog published in the late 1920s.

Kit homes were common in parts of the country in the first half of the 20th century. People ordered the homes from catalogs published by companies like Sears and Gordon Van Tyne. The lumber and accessories were cut to size and numbered at a manufacturing site and shipped by rail to the local builder.

Since then, we have identified several others scattered throughout the county. But kit homes were not widely built in Florida, and the researchers said it had to be extremely rare for three of them to be clustered on one Florida street.

After receiving Browder's email, I drove down and took a look at the house. It's showing its 80-plus years of age, but the building and yard are in neat order.

A red brick chimney rises to the sky on the east side. The garage, which is also pictured in the 1928 catalog, is still standing in the rear. There have been some alterations here and there on the outside, but you can certainly identify both buildings as coming from the catalog.

City officials confirmed that a demolition permit had been issued. The owners have given the city permission to take some photographs inside the house so we can at least have a historical record.

The building does not have any historical designations that would restrict its removal. Those designations normally have to be pursued by the owner of a property. Susan Miller, who restored the house next door, has such a designation on her house.

I tried unsuccessfully to contact a family member by phone and email to ask some questions about the demolition plan and their experience with the building.

I have experienced the financial pain and day to day inconveniences that come with keeping up older homes. That experience is not for everyone. Also, vacant homes, as this one appears to be, can create liability issues for owners. In that area of Melbourne, there is a history of homeless people breaking into vacant homes and using them for shelter.

If this house hadn't been identified as a part of a bigger, significant cluster, I doubt if anyone but the immediate neighbors would have blinked an eye about its prospective demolition.

But just two blocks away from this house is an example of how keeping things in place can have a positive outcome. On New Haven Avenue, there are many business buildings that you would look at individually and immediately say, "Hey, that's not worth keeping.''

Over the past two decades, though, enough people have invested in interesting and not so interesting older buildings to create a tapestry that is now a thriving destination spot for residents and visitors. The mix of periods and styles raises the "realness" quotient for the restaurants, bars, antique stores, offices, medical facilities and retail shops.

The same thing works in residential areas. Special communities are built one person and one building at a time.

They can be torn down the same way. It would be great if this house in question was given a chance to attract someone willing to keep it as part of the fabric of this gentrified, but still relevant neighborhood.

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Email this article

Bob Stover: A home worth saving?

One of of three rare, kit-built houses in Melbourne is scheduled for demolition, Bob Stover says.